Sole pressing machine



Nov. 2, 1943. I L. E. STEIMEN 2,333,209

' SOLE PRESSING MACHINE Filed July 30 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2, 1943. L. E, s'rEI-MEN 2,333,209

SOLE PRESSING MACHINE Filed July 30 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VE N TUl-Y:

Patented Nov. 2, 1943 Lawrence Eu Steimen, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United-Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N .,J., a corporation of New Jersey Application uly 30,1942, Serial No. 452,859 (01. 12- 38) 9 Claims. This invention relates to" sole-laying or solepressing machines and is herein illustratedasem machine particularly adapted to lay:

bodied in a ing a straight-edgesole upon thebottom of a lasted shoe to which the sole isto he vulcanized. The term straight-edge sole denotes a sole which has ;a straight edge in the finished shoe as distinguished from one having; tor examplepa rolled or semi-rolled edge, such as is commonly present in gaiters, that is, a sole all portions of 5 which are as flat as the bottomof the shoe. A

common example of a straight-edge sole is one havingan extension edge'around the forepart.

After the lasted shoe is otherwise substantially completed, except for the sole-laying and vulcaniz ingsteps, a sole of unvulcanized or partly vuleaniz'ed'rubber' is" properly located'on the bottom'of the shoe an'dislaid orpressed into place.- Commonly this'sole-laying operation is performed" by amachine -comprising' a pressure box=-having-a flexiblediaphragm upon which the shoe; with the sole lightly adheringto its bottom, is placed; the shoe beingsupported against pressure which is exerted through the'diaphragm by means .of a suitable support which comprises a jack for engagingthe-top of the last anda toe rest *for engagingthetop of the iorepart of the shoe. A machine of this general type, and specifically a machine in which fluid is forced into the pressure box beneath the diaphragm, is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.

1,920,977, granted August8; 1933' on an application filed in the name of Sidney J Finn.

murder tofacilitate the-pressing or laying of straight-edge soles, there -is provided in a machine in which fluidpressure is applied through a flexible diaphragm, a device adapted to be placed increased flexibility and compressibility 'at a'-lo-' cality where it acts'to press the sole into the arch of a shoe, if the shoe has an arch; and in case the arch is a high one, the pad may be provided with a tongue which is crowded up into the arch by the pressure exerted through the diaphragm These and other features of the invention, in cludingcertain details of construction and cornbinations of parts, will be described as embodied upon the diaphragm, said device comprising a comparatively thick pad of-flexibleresilient material, such for example as rubber, and a rigid holder consistin of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions ofthe padwith a sliding fit. This device is supported-against the pressure exerted through the diaphragm only by the shoe which is itself properly supported, no part ofthe device engaging I any-part of the" machine other than the diaphragm upon which the device restsfl The device may therefore be said to be a floating one in that its pos'ition during the application of pressure may vary according to the typeof shoe being operated upon-, the thickness of the pad and the fianges'of the rigid holder preventing anyconsiderable bending of the pad about'the forepart and theheelpart of the sole Preferably the pad has a'portion of in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims. 1

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a portion of a machine in which the present invention'is embodied, a high-arched shoe with a straight-edge sole and having a Wood heel being shown in the position which it occupies before pressure is applied;

Fig. 2 is a section similar to Fig. 1 but the shoe while pressure is being applied;

Fig, 3 is a perspective of the pad 'andits holder; and i ll Fig. 4 is a perspective of a modified-pad inthe same holder. l

showing Theillustrated machine comprises a pressure box 5; the upper wall of which consists of a flexible diaphragmv 1, herein shown as comprising three layers of sheet rubber. Disregarding for the moment the pad and its holder which will be described later, the operationof the machine-is substantially as follows. A lasted shoe 10- with a sole 200 located thereon is placed on thediaphragm I with its heel end against a heel plate 9 having a, piece of yielding material ll, suchas Thereafter, a jack post, not

distend the diaphragm and press the sole. After. 1

the sole has thus been pressed or laid, the parts return to the position shown in Fig.1 to permit No further description of removal of the shoe. the construction and the mode of operation of the machine, as thus far described, Will beg'iven,

since any suitable machine maybe employedin which a flexible diaphragm is used, reference. beingmade to the patent for details of construction of the particular machine shown. r

The device which is placed upon thediaphragiii consists of a holder of'rigid material, such as steel, having substantially straight parallel side walls 31, 33 connected by curved end walls 35, 3?. Around the forepart are two horizontal flanges, an upper flange 39 and a lower flange il, which hold the forepart of a comparatively thick pad 43 of flexible resilient material in place and prevent the pad from bulging up around the forepart of the sole. Around the rear part are two upper flanges 45 and two lower flanges 67, the function of these two pairs of flanges'being to maintain the heel end of the pad in the holder and to prevent the pad from bulging up around the heel parts of soles of certain types ofshoes; The proportions are such that the pad has a sliding fit in the holder. It may thus be readily removed and replaced by another pad of the same or different construction, and the endsmay slide toward each other when force is applied, to a locality near the longitudinal middle of the pad to cause that locality to bulge up into the recess just in front of the heel of a shoe, this latter capability being particularly advantageous in the modifiedconstruction of Fig. 4 which has no tongue.

The pad shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is particularly adapted for usewith shoes having high arches. To this-end there isformed in this pad a tongue 49 which is generallytrapezoidal in longitudinal section and is integral with the pad at theforward end of the tongue. The shoe shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is one which presents considerable difficulty; The sole, which has an extension edge around the forepart, has been properly 'locatedzon the bottom of the shoe and lightly cemented in place, and theheel has been i similarly located and is similarly held. In Fig. 1,.

before pressure hasbeen applied, the tongue 59 h has been swung up somewhat, owing to the fact that its lower corner rests upon the undistended diaphragml. When nowfluid is forced into the pressure'box .to. distend thediaphragm, the tongue is swung up and crowded into the recess at the shank'of the shoe, as shownfin Fig. 2. In order to permit the tongue to swing up freely, particularly when shoes having'very high-arches are being operated upon, the lower edge ofthat por' tion of the heel end of the pad whichfaces the tongue is cut away somewhat as indicated in Figs. "1'and 2. readily be caused to accommodate its shape to the longitudinal shape of the recess into which it is forced as well as to wrap somewhat about the edges at the shank portion of the sole, the tongue is made more-flexible and compressible than it would otherwise be, for'example by cutting in its under side a'seri es of transverse slots? 1 the slots being preferably of "graduated depth, as shown. After the pressing operation, the shoe is put in a vulcanizing oven; and after vulcanization the last is pulled and the heel nailed. I

The shoe illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 has been chosen for illustration because of the dimculties' encountered in the pressing operation. It'should be particularly noted that the thick pad and the overhanging flanges at the forepart provide a construction'in which a'straight -edge sole, for example one with anextension edge'such as is shown, is neither bent nor rolled but is maintained substantially as flat as is the bottom of the lasted shoe against'which it is pressed.

Inthe case of shoes which have low arches or none at all andinwh'ich the sole commonly ex- In order that the tongue may tends over the heel-end of the lasted shoe, a pad such as that shown' in'liig. 4 maybe used. In

this case the holder is the same, but the pad 53 is a thick piece of flexible resilient material of substantially uniform thickness throughout. In such a pad it is desirable that a portion spaced from the ends, which is bulged up when a shoe having an arch is being operated upon, should be of increased flexibility and compressibility. To this end it may contain less material than the two ends of thepad by reason of a series of slots 55 cut in its under side. It will be noted that, in the illustrated embodiment, the slots are of graduated depth, being deeper near the middle portion of :the series than at the ends. There is thus somewhat more material at the two ends of the bulged portion, and particularly at the rear'end where the bend is usually sharper.

In the'operation' of the machine, the pad holder with-itspad' is placed upon the diaphragm in proper position; and the shoe with the sole properly located thereon is placed upon the pad. This is. the position of parts shown in Fig. 1. The treadle of the machine is then depressed, whereupon the jack swingsinto a position just above the top of the last, the side and toe plates close about the shoe, and the toe rest i1 descends upon the toe portion of the shoe. A fluid is then v forced into the pressure box 5 to distend the diaphragm and'pro duce the eifect shown in Fig. 2. Thepressing operation is now complete, and the parts fof the machine. returned to the position shown in Fig. 1- to permit removal of the shoe.

The device is shown as occupying v a position which is substantially horizontal but it should be understood that it may occupy a tilted position depending upon the position taken'by the shoewhen the pressureis applied. It should be par-- ticularly noted that the whole device; is supported against thepressure exerted through the diaphragm entirely by, thebottom of the forepart and heel of the shoe, if theshoe has an arch,

or by the flat bottom of the sole if the shoe has no arch. Inasmuch as the device accommodates itself to ,the position of the bottom of the 7 shoe independently of, the positions occupied by other parts of the machine, the device is equally. useful in machines of other types, such for example as those in which the shoe is pushed down.

upon the diaphragm of a pressure box which holds a constant volume of liquid.

Although the invention'has been set forth as embodied in a construction in which pressure is applied through a diaphragm by forcing a fluid into a pressure box, it should be understood that me invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular construction which has been shown and described.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters;

Patent of the United States is z 1. A. machine for pressing against the bottom of a lasted shoe a straight-edge sole, said ma? chine having in combination a pressure box one wall. of which comprises a flexible diaphragm means for supporting the shoe against pressure applied through the diaphragm, a thick} pad of resilient material located'upon the diaphragm and with which thebotto-rn oithe sole of the shoe contacts, a pad holder ofrigid material provided with flanges at its toe and. heel'ends to receive the pad and to prevent any; considerable bending of the pad about the edgeso-fthe sole at those localities, and means for. causing the diaphragmv to exert pressure through the pad to. press the sole against the 'bottoni' -of.the shoe, theholder. being free to accommodate'its position;

to any position occupied by the shoe during the application of the pressure.

2. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material, and a rigid holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges at its toe and heel ends to receive marginal portions of the pad.

3. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material, and a rigid holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flexible material, and a rigid holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges at its toe and'heel endsto receive mar,- ginal portions of the pad, said pad having on the side next to the diaphragm and in a locality spaced from the ends of the pad a series of cut-,;

away portions.

5. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material provided at a locality between the ends thereof with a tongue, and a holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions of the pad.

6. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material provided at a locality between 'the ends thereof with a tongue, and a holder consisting of an endless Wall having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions of the pad, said tongue being more compressible than the remainder of the pad.

7. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material provided at a locality between the ends thereof with a tongue, and a holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions of the pad, said tongue having, a cut-away portion on the side next to the diaphragm.

8. A device for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material provided at a locality between the ends thereof with a tongue, and a holder consisting of an endless wall -having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions of the pad, said tongue being generally trapezoidal in longitudinal section with its larger end presented toward the rear of the pad.

9. A device 'for use with a sole-pressing machine having a flexible diaphragm, said device being adapted to be placed upon the diaphragm and comprising a comparatively thick pad of flexible material provided at a locality between the ends thereof with a tongue, and a holder consisting of an endless wall having inwardly extending flanges to receive marginal portions of the pad, said tongue being generally trapezoidal in longitudinal section and having on the side next to the diaphragm a series of cut-away portions.

LAWRENCE E. STEIMZEN. 

